Page 72 of Forgotten Vows

I can hear the crackle of flames now, and smell smoke. The blast came from the front of the bar, near where we were sitting. If we'd still been in that booth?—

I don't let myself finish the thought.

"Get dressed," I tell Adriana, my voice sharp. "Now."

She scrambles to obey, yanking up her jeans with shaking hands. I'm already moving toward the door, my gun drawn, every sense on high alert. When I crack it open, I can see the devastation in the hallway. Part of the ceiling has collapsed, and there's debris everywhere. The screaming is louder now, punctuated by the sound of people coughing and choking on smoke.

"Lachlan—" Adriana's hand is on my arm, and I can feel her trembling.

"Stay behind me." I pull her close, keeping her body shielded with mine as we move down the hallway. "Don't let go of me."

The main room of the bar is a nightmare. The front wall is gone, blown outward into the street, and I can see bodies in the rubble. Some of them are moving, crawling, trying to get out. Others aren't moving at all. The booth where we were sitting is completely destroyed, nothing left but twisted metal and splintered wood.

If we'd been sitting there when the bomb went off, we'd be dead.

This was Gio, sending a message. Letting me know that he can reach us anywhere, anytime. That we'll never be safe as long as he's alive.

"Oh my God." Adriana's voice is barely a whisper, and when I look at her, her face is white with shock. "Those people?—"

"Don't look." I pull her toward the back exit, away from the carnage. "We need to get out of here. Now."

We make it outside into the alley, and I can already hear sirens in the distance. They'll be here in minutes, and I can't be here when they arrive. I need to get Adriana out of this, not prolong it.

Adriana is staring back toward the bar, toward the smoke and flames and screaming, and I can see the guilt already settling over her like a shroud. "This is because of me," she whispers. "Those people—they're hurt because of me."

"No." I grab her face, forcing her to look at me. "This is because of Gio. Not you."

"But if I hadn't—if you hadn't come for me?—"

"Then you'd still be in that house, and he'd still be hurting you." My voice is fierce. "This is on him, Adriana. All of it. And I'm going to end it."

I pull her against me, holding her tight. I can feel her shaking. "Matteo—" she starts, her voice muffled.

"He's fine. He's safe at the penthouse with Rian." I stroke her hair, trying to calm her. "No one's getting to him. I promise."

But even as I say it, I know it's not enough. Gio just proved that he can strike anywhere, anytime. That he's willing to kill innocent people just to send me a message. He'll never stop until one of us is dead.

And I know which one of us it's going to be.

—

By the timewe get back to the penthouse, Adriana has stopped crying, but she's gone quiet, which scares me more than the tears did. She goes straight to Matteo's room, checking on him, and I watch her from the doorway. I can see the weight of guilt crushing her.

I leave her there and head to my office, pulling out my phone. Cormac answers on the first ring.

"I heard," he says before I can speak. "You were there?"

"Yeah." I sink into my desk chair, suddenly exhausted. "We got out. But there were casualties. Civilians."

"Fuck." Cormac's quiet for a moment. "This is escalating fast." He pauses. "You're going to go after him, aren't you?"

"I'm ending this." My voice is flat. "He just killed innocent people to send me a message. He's not going to stop. So I'm going to stop him. If there's any information we don't have yet, get it for me. Make sure we're prepared."

"Understood." I can hear Cormac moving in the background. "I'll have something for you by tomorrow."

"Make it tonight."

I hang up and sit there in the darkness of my office, staring atnothing. I can still smell the smoke, hear the screaming. Can still see the bodies in the rubble.